No. 24 Men’s Basketball Hosts Merrimack Wednesday

Wednesday, November 20

Piscataway, N.J.

8:00 PM

Rutgers University

Merrimack

Rutgers Men's Basketball Defeats Monmouth

Photo by: Cos Lymperopoulos

No. 24 Men’s Basketball Hosts Merrimack Wednesday

Nov 18 | Men's Basketball

Stream on Peacock Listen on WFAN Gameday Guide: Know Before You Go Live Stats Rutgers Game Notes Rutgers Media Guide Merrimack Game Notes

8 PM Tipoff on Peacock

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 24 Rutgers men's basketball returns to Jersey Mike's Arena on Wednesday night for the team's fourth straight home game to open the season. RU will tipoff against Merrimack at 8 p.m. The game will air on Peacock, with Jason Knapp and Nik Stauskas on the call. Jerry Recco and Austin Johnson will have the radio call on WFAN. Merrimack will make a 272-mile trek from Andover, Massachusetts (north of Boston), making them the farther opponent RU has faced in the early going. Rutgers' first three opponents each were within 40 miles, and the trio drove a combined 101 miles for the games.

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About Rutgers

Rutgers has opened the season with a 3-0 record, downing Wagner, St. Peter's and Monmouth. The team posted 98 points against the Hawks on Friday in their last contest, marking the highest output for a Steve Pikiell coached RU squad. Rutgers stands ninth nationally in fastbreak points (23.33), 13^th in assist/turnover ration (2.0) and turnovers (8.7) and 14^th in fouls per game (13.0).

Dylan Harper, who was named RU's first Big Ten Freshman of the Week since 2019 on Monday, continues his hot start to the season with three straight games of at least 20 points, averaging 21.3 points per game to lead the squad. If Harper can produce 20 points versus Merrimack, he would be first player in RU history to begin their career with four straight games of 20+ points (currently tied with Phil Sellers, who did so in three straight games). The last time a RU freshman had three straight games of 20+ points was Corey Sanders on Feb. 3, Feb. 6 and Feb. 16, 2016. No Scarlet Knight freshman since at least 2003-04 has had four straight games of 20+ points.

Harper has the highest usage rate in the Big Ten this season at 31%. At the current pace, he would be the first freshman to lead the conference in usage rate since Michigan State's Nick Ward in 2016-17 and would have the highest usage rate for a Rutgers player in 19 years (Quincy Douby, 2005-06).

Jordan Derkack will face his former team on Wednesday, having played at Merrimack for his first two collegiate seasons before coming to The Banks for the current campaign. Derkack excelled for Merrimack last season and was named the NEC Player of the Year, NEC Defensive Player of the Year and to the First Team All-NEC. Across 66 games (all starts) over two seasons, he averaged 12.0 points, 4.97 rebounds, 3.34 assists, and 3.16 steals. The Colonia, N.J. native has made an immediate impact for RU as an all-around and selfless player. In three starts and 25.7 minutes per game this season, he has averaged 7.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists, while shooting 90% (9-of-10) from the free throw line.

About Merrimack

Merrimack enters the contest with a 1-2 record, most recently falling 68-57 to fellow NJ school Princeton despite 24 points from Adam "Budd" Clark. After opening the season with a 65-51 victory over Vermont, they also fell at VCU, 63-42. Clark, last year's NEC Rookie of the Year and a preseason First Team All-MACC selection, averages 20.7 points per game on the season and is 12^th nationally with 3.0 steals per game. The Warriors, who joined the Division I level ahead of the 2019-20 season, have finished First in the NEC twice in the first four years of D-1 competition under head coach Joe Gallo. Currently, Merrimack stands 31^st in the nation in scoring defense (60.7 ppg allowed).

About the Series

This will be the second meeting for Rutgers against Merrimack. The initial meeting came in 2021, when RU claimed a 43-35 slugfest victory at Jersey Mike's Arena, holding the Warriors to 12 points total in the second half.

With a Win

4-0 start for the second time in the past three seasons and fourth time in the past six seasons.
Improve to 64-7 in non-conference home games under head coach Steve Pikiell.
Mark the 13^th straight non-conference home game win
Improve to 45-2 in those contests since the start of the 2019-20 season.
Dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season, Rutgers would be 72-19 at Jersey Mike's Arena.

Up Next

After four consecutive home games at Jersey Mike's Arena to start the year, RU will hit the road for its next five games. That starts at Kennesaw State on Sunday, followed by a three-game swing in Las Vegas at the Players First Tournament, then opening Big Ten play on the road at Ohio State. When RU returns to Jersey Mike's Arena to host Penn State on December 10, it will have been 20 days since the last home game.